Worst failed solo careers?

Hear ya I knew that I just figured you didn't hear from a solo Roth in so many years.

 

Hoffs and Harry didn't have blazing solo careers, but were able to set off a few sparks with:
Susana Hoffs' single "My Side of the Bed" hit #30, in 1991.
Debbie Harry's first solo LP "KooKoo"
peaked at #25 in 1981, and achieved "Gold" sales status!

Frida of ABBA charted with "I Know There's Something Going On", a hit single that peaked at #13 in the US, in 1983. Phil Collins produced her LP.

 

I wouldn't count Phillip Bailey due to "Easy Lover" the Chinese Wall album and as well as his gospel career.

 

He did better than I thought. I thought Tony DeFries had huge plans for him and fell flat on his face but I got it wrong. Must have been a UK only thing though.

 

David Byron, lead singer of Uriah Heep, tried his hand at a solo album and it bombed. After he was booted from the band, his solo career fared no better.

 

Great vocalist of course, but "trying to be" ....that's my big issue with RZ. I don't know what he really sounds like. Perhaps the great chameleon singer ever.

 

Not strictly for the 1st three. Fred had a quite a few solo hits in the 1980s (remember Barcelona?) and even a posthumous #1 in the UK with Living On My Own. Rog has had a few hits here & there with or without The Cross. May - well he had a few hits & a number of charting solo albums. John Deacon is the 'winner' here of the 4 Queen solo careers. I seem to remember seeing a video of his for a side project in the late 1980s that did so badly I can't even remember the song or anything else he did after that.

 

Got a lot of airplay on MTV and the radio.

 

Diamond's solos are fat city. More Halen than Hagar.

 

Of course BS&TESB never released a studio album.

 

Can't imagine Eno ever had a hit as an artist though he did as a producer.

 

LP's:

1. "Tom Fogerty" (1971-72)

2. "Excalibur" (1972)

3. "Zephyr National" (1974) (Stu and Doug joining in plus a full 'virtual' CCR reunion on "Joyful Resurrection")

4. "Myopia" (1974) (Stu and Doug joining in again)

5. "Ruby" (1976) (w/ the band "Ruby")

7. "Rock And Roll Madness (w/ the band "Ruby") (1978)

8. "Deal It Out" (1981)

9. "Precious Gems" (as "Tom Fogerty + Ruby") (1984)

10. "Sidekicks" (w/ Randy Oda) (1992)

11. "The Very Best Of Tom Fogerty" (1999)


Singles:

1. "Goodbye Media Man (Part 1) / Goodbye Media Man" (Part 2) (1971)

2. "Lady Of Fatima / Cast The First Stone" (1972)

3. "Faces , Places, People / Forty Years" (1972)

4. "Mystic Isle Avalon / Reggie" (1973)

5. "Joyful Resurrection / Heartbeat" (1973)

6. "It's Been A Good day / Money (Root The Root)" (1974)

7. "Sweet Things To Come / There Was A Time" (1975)

8. "Champagne Love / Deal It Out" (1981)



Of all that, I believe the only records to chart were "Goodbye Media Man" and the LP "Tom Fogerty". Both in the lower reaches of the top 100.

Don't forget, Doug Clifford had an album and single as well. Both bombed.

 

Geri was massive. I remember her vids were everywhere!

 

Freddie? Really? Living on my own and Great Pretender were monster global megahits and so was Barcelona.

 

The Chinese Wall is an 80's classic.

 

Love this song, and for years before the Internet, I had no idea who sang it.

Did John Entwistle solo amount to anthing ?

 

Solo Byron lacked any direction sadly, instead of going full hard rock/metal (like Ozzy or Dio) he tried every trick in the book and failed. There was some good stuff on his solo albums though.

 

Still...pretty good song and album...

 

His very first solo LP, Here Come The Warm Jets hit #23 in the U.K. , and even if it didn't, Eno is about the last person I would ever consider as someone with a failed solo career.

 

In this regard, I think of Paul Weller and Bob Mould. Not that I don't like what they've done...

 

Are we talking about guys who had like one album or a single that utterly bombed or do we count guys that had a whole run of cult or acclaimed albums that just might have not all been smash hits? Otherwise you could say people like Eno or John Cale are failed solo artists

 

Exactly. I don't think he even wanted to have one. Anyway his solo work always had huge critical acclaim as well as tons of influence and me thinks that's exactly how he wanted it to be.

 

I don't care for Paul Weller solo but I think most of his records were major and widely discussed releases.

 

The question was about sales not artistic failure. But thanks for the info about UK charts.

 

Speaking about hard rock singers it's a shame that both Bonnet and Turner never achieved any superstardom post-Rainbow. Both had the looks and killer instantly recognizable voices.